Painting Our Community: Deborah and Andy Frank Bring Art, Color, and Joy to Beverly Hills

WRITTEN BY ARIELLE HARRIS | PHOTOGRAPHY BY CIRCUMPUNCT STUDIO

Art is a universal language that brings people together through its various forms. For Beverly Hills residents Andy and Deborah Frank, their worlds collided in New Orleans while Andy was in the city for the Jazz Festival. The two connected over Zydeco music, jazz, and art. More than 30 years later, Deborah and Andy have painted a colorful life full of family, community, artistic craftsmanship, and appreciation for the arts.

 As a native of Beverly Hills, Andy has generational roots in the city with his mother, sister, two daughters, and of course, himself, attending the local Beverly Hills schools. “Beverly Hills has been home for four generations,” shares Andy proudly. Andy attended school at USC for both his undergraduate and dentistry education. Though he practiced dentistry for over 40 years, his experience as a ceramicist is over half a century long – and still ongoing. “I have my own studio and work full time creating ceramics. The most impactful influences on my artwork are my first two ceramic teachers at Beverly High, John Riddle and Po Lau,” laughs Andy. Aside from his own studio work, Andy spends summers at Anderson Ranch Arts Center collaborating with artists and partaking in workshops. He was also an Artist in Residence at CalArts, teaching the potters wheel, an instructor at Beverly Hills High School, and a volunteer for events requiring a ceramic studio.

Andy at his at-home sculpting & ceramics studio

Deborah grew up in an Army family, where her father was a Rabbi, living between the United States and Germany. Her family eventually settled in Bakersfield, California, giving her a chance to visit Los Angeles relatives frequently. On these trips, she was able to experience much of the Los Angeles art scene and museums, from the Hollywood Bowl to LACMA. “I can still remember the smell from the La Brea Tar Pits,” Deborah reminisces. Having loved her time in Los Angeles and inspired by the art culture, Deborah moved to the city after high school, completed college, and worked selling syndicated television shows and product placement for films. 

 Once Deborah and Andy had their two daughters, Deborah stepped away from film and television. She invested her time focusing on immersing their children in a world full of diverse creativity. “Raising my children and realizing the significance of how art affected their lives was the foundation of my involvement with them from early childhood onwards,” says Deborah. “I was extremely active in their schooling and noticed in kindergarten there wasn't any specific program for art, so I created one. I brought books about famous artists, read them to the class, and then the children would create their version of the artist's designs.” Recognizing the sense of purpose and fulfillment art brought to these young children, Deborah was inspired to transition into the next phase of her life with a commitment to sharing the visual arts with as many students and community members as possible. She started with her work supporting the art program “Reflections” for the Beverly Hills schools. She also assisted in developing a student art gallery at Beverly Hills High School, and the National Art Society program, serving on the Beverly Hills Education Foundation, and the Beverly Hills Arts Council. 

 Once her daughters graduated from high school, Deborah utilized the established relationships she had built throughout her years of service to the Beverly Hills schools. She and two friends became co-chairs of the Friends of Beverly Garden Park to raise funds for the city’s beloved parks. “The purpose of the Friends of Beverly Garden Parks was to restore the city’s 1.2 miles of green space along Santa Monica Boulevard to its pristine beauty, as a place for not only residents but also for visitors from all over the world to enjoy. Together we created events partnering with many of the local businesses in the city. To draw awareness to the beauty and foundation of the parks, we created ‘Holiday Sing,’ a program designed for the community, including all Beverly Hills schools,” says Deborah. Once the Beverly Gardens Park program fulfilled its mission, Deborah progressed to working on other projects alongside local museums, including curating exhibitions at several art galleries, organizing a fundraiser for CalArts (which featured Andy’s ceramics at the Mercedes-Benz of Beverly Hills), and partaking in the Tours and Education team at the Broad Museum until the pandemic hit. “I was inspired to work for the Broad Museum because its goal was to serve the community and focus on multiculturalism,” shares Deborah.

 Despite the global setback the pandemic brought to the world, Deborah and Andy continued to find ways to actively keep art part of their environment. Deborah is most proud of the "Embrace & Celebrate Culture" initiative. The Arts and Culture Commission of Beverly Hills created an inter-commission collaboration with the Human Relations Commission; the purpose was to create inclusivity, diversity, and belonging in the city, especially after the first year of COVID and civil unrest. At the pandemic’s height, the Commission also successfully launched several COVID-friendly installations. Projected onto the outside windows of the Wallis at night, Visions of Light: “Windows on the Wallis” with TZ Projects exhibited over 40 established and emerging artists’ work. Another memorable project was “Sing for Hope,” an integrated partnership with the City of Beverly Hills and the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts where artists painted pianos placed on the streets for anyone to play. “What I liked most about this project was that it brought joy to our city, and the pianos found their forever homes in public schools throughout Los Angeles,” smiles Deborah. Additionally, the Arts and Culture Commission partnered with Marc Selwyn Fine Art, Lisa Baker, and Saks Fifth Avenue to showcase a large-scale, multi-screen video installation with work by internationally renowned artists William Wegman, inside the Saks storefront windows. Deborah’s most recent work includes partnerships with local hotels like the Maybourne and Peninsula to orchestrate new art installations and events. 

In addition to her full-time commitment to the city’s Commission, Deborah is actively involved with Visionary Women, LACMA, and serves as a Program Chair for MOCA in Los Angeles. She is an advocate for creating a sense of community and city pride through art initiatives. “When discussing the value of arts and culture to society, it is important to start with its intrinsic value: how arts and culture can illuminate our inner lives and enrich our emotional world,” asserts Deborah. Given Deborah has colored the city with this philosophy, it is no surprise that she and Andy integrate these values into their own home, decorated with collections of mid-century modern California pottery. Some of the pieces were included in Los Angeles’ first Pacific Standard Time, which also fostered relationships with various major museums in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Additionally, the couple have donated artwork from their collection to the California African American Museum, further leaving their print upon their local community.

“I try to use my platform for social impact and to create positive change. Art and artists are essential in seeing ourselves and understanding the world. A creative way to accomplish this could be by highlighting diverse voices through displayed art in nontraditional spaces. Whether it be a vacant storefront, a building, or a hotel, why can't art be on the walls? I think in such bleak times, the role of art is more important than ever. It is an essential tool to reimagine the world and a better future for all of us." - Deborah Frank